Studies run the gamut

Oklahoma House Speaker Charles McCall has given the go-ahead for 90 interim studies to be conducted prior to the 2020 session. The list of those that made the cut is interesting, as are many of the 56 requests McCall rejected.

Virtual charter schools will be the subject of studies to research funding formulas for virtual charters and to look at the effectiveness of virtual and blended learning. These schools have been much in the news of late, with Epic Virtual Charter Schools the subject of a probe by the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation regarding alleged embezzlement.

Activity within traditional brick-and-mortar schools also is of interest to House members. Rep. Jadine Nollan, R-Sand Springs, will explore best practices for disciplining violent outbursts or behavior in classrooms. Rep. Danny Sterling, R-Tecumseh, concerned about childhood obesity and diabetes rates, is exploring the need to create an assessment tool to be used in PE classes.

Noting Oklahoma's high rates of domestic violence,

Rep. Denise Brewer, D-Tulsa, will lead a study into the causes, possible prevention tactics and what other areas of the country are doing.

Reps. Tammy Townley, R-Ardmore, and Chris Sneed, R-Muskogee, obtained approval to look at ways to secure rural health care facilities, providers and staffing. It was one of the few health care-related requests approved by McCall — most others were nixed because a House-Senate working group is being created to address health care.

Among those in the “no” column was one by Rep. Lewis Moore, R-Arcadia, to study a subscription program for EMSA, the ambulance provider for Oklahoma City and Tulsa. Lewis asked in his request whether Oklahomans are “being taken for a ride.” Another study request by Moore sought to explore the dangers of marijuana, including whether there is legal recourse to stop tainted products from entering the state.

McCall rejected Rep. Ajay Pittman's request to study tribal regalia in public schools. Pittman, D-Oklahoma City, noted that districts are sometimes reluctant to grant such leeway even though the attorney general's office has said the restrictions could violate the federal Religious Freedom Act.

Rep. Mickey Dollens, D-Oklahoma City, was turned down in his effort to compare average teacher salary in Oklahoma to that in surrounding states. Rep. Toni Hasenbeck, R-Elgin, sought unsuccessfully to look at the state's low participation in a federal summer feeding program for children.

McCall also rejected requests to study the operation and management of weigh stations at ports of entry; whether the incarceration rate is increasing or decreasing; and whether ranked-choice voting is needed in Oklahoma.

One member sought to study putting changing tables in the men's and women's bathrooms of all future state buildings, saying the study “will focus on the effects this would have on Oklahomans and take a step towards gender parity and ending gendered stereotypes.”

In what may have been one of his easiest decisions, McCall, to his credit, said no.